Social Media - Flavour of the Month…

Facebook has stood at number 1 on the platforms of social media for long enough. It seems now we have elected a new visionary to take its place - Instagram. In these fast paced lives we all live, we want things to be easy with no clutter. A simple scroll to pass over something we don’t find interesting - we want all the context wrapped up in one pretty picture. We want Instagram.

While Facebook and Twitter have put more focus into allowing photos to be viewed directly on feeds, it seems they just can't steal the limelight from Instagram and its storytelling platform. In the last year Instagram has seen a massive increase in engagement, roughly 60 times more than Facebook. Along with that, Instagram has also won on increase of activity usage.

So why exactly is Instagram running the show now?Apart from it being down right pretty with its almost limitless filter options, Instagram is allowing people and companies to build relationships through their images, creating unforgettable memories, nostalgia and connections with their audience.

Instagram turns everyone into an artist. Young or old, Instagram gets the creative juices flowing. Whether it be a #sunset or #foodporn; people are getting imaginative. Privacy settings that actually make you feel safe. When you comment on someone’s photo, it doesn’t pop up in a news feed. You can direct message friends or followers; this allows everyone to be unafraid to engage.

Discovering what you want has never been so easy. Whether you’re searching using a # or searching for a person, you can find it by hitting one button. Last but not least - no clutter. You aren’t bombarded by advertisements, you aren’t hit with suggested pages to like, and there is no large amount on text to read through to get the story. People are not looking for branded advertisements clogging up their feed; they want a storytelling platform. It’s simple.

What does this mean for your company?If done properly, this could be the easiest and simplest free marketing tool out there. Make sure you have your own #, something quick and catchy. Utilise Instagram to it’s full potential. Create competitions by getting your followers to repost your image, tag your company and your #. The amount of potential client, customers, followers that you could reach is second to none for an organic post.

Who’s doing it right?A company that looks to be doing things properly on Instagram at the moment is Sharpie. With almost 120,000 followers, it is hard to believe the good old Sharpie was best known for writing on your moving boxes. Now they offer involvement and interaction with their followers, encourage creativity and most of all, they brighten up their followers Instagram feed.